Traces of a Hidden Tradition in
Masonry and Medieval Mysticism

by Isabel Cooper-Oakley

[1900]

This is a set of essays by
Isabel Cooper-Oakley, an early member of the Theosophists.
She connects the dots between ancient wisdom schools
and modern Freemasonry.
At the root of this tree are a set of ideas from Hinduism, Zororastrianism,
Gnosticism and early Christianity.
Along the way she connects a number of links
such as the Knights-Templars, the Troubadours and the Rosicrucians.
She names dozens of even more obscure secret societies,
heresies and conspiracies.
The book finishes with an analysis of the Grail myth.

Cooper-Oakley writes from an openly Theosophical world-view.
However, she is a more than competent historical writer,
and quotes extensively from primary and secondary sources to make her point.
This book provides abundant background information that anyone
trying to understand this topic should have a grasp of.